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Magma's Blast Create SA Used by STMicroelectronics to Deliver Industry's First Application-Specific Structured ASIC; Integrated Flow Proven to Deliver Better Timing, Area and Turnaround Time for Structured ASIC Designs
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 21, 2006—
Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a
provider of semiconductor design software, today announced that
STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) has successfully implemented a
via-programmable embedded structured ASIC platform using Magma's Blast
Create(TM) SA. The embedded block was implemented in a 110-nanometer
(nm) process and will be used to customize functions in multifunction
printer applications. With the Magma software's integrated
implementation and excellent correlation with STMicroelectronics'
sign-off capabilities, STMicroelectronics was able to meet tight
timing, area and schedule constraints. As a result of this success,
STMicroelectronics is now adopting the Magma flow for all the
customizations of its Spear(TM) Head 200 configurable SoC.
"To meet the demands of the printer market, we need to perform
customizations of our configurable SoC in an efficient manner and with
a fast turnaround, key factors in this market," said Loris Valenti,
design director, Computer Peripherals Group, STMicroelectronics. "We
used the Magma system because it offered several critical
capabilities. Blast Create SA's structure-specific timing optimization
allowed us to manage the mapping of the RTL into the programmable
logic cells, enabling us to fully leverage the structured ASIC fabric
embedded in our Spear(TM) product, achieve timing and minimize area.
Leveraging the ST/Magma design flow for standard-cell designs, we were
able to correlate results to our existing sign-off tools quickly and
easily."
"We're very pleased to work with ST on advanced techniques to
achieve aggressive design goals while drastically reducing the cost
and cycle time for derivative IC products," said Kam Kittrell general
manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "The method of
mixing metal-programmable logic arrays with conventional standard-cell
design is increasingly being used for many high-volume applications.
Addressing the challenges of this hybrid approach within our
RTL-to-silicon implementation system reduces the time to market for
the first device and future revisions."
STMicroelectronics' Application-Specific Structured ASIC
SPEAr(TM) Head is a member of the Spear(TM) family of customizable
SoCs. It integrates an advanced ARM926EJ-S core running at 266 MHz, a
complete set of IP (intellectual property) blocks and a configurable
logic block that allows an incomparable level of flexibility in
high-complexity system implementation. The new device makes it
possible to achieve extremely fast customization of critical functions
in a fraction of the time and cost required by a full-custom design
approach. The device is provided with a development board and Linux SW
drivers allowing testing of the system very early in the development
process.
SPEAr by ST(TM) family addresses a variety of applications,
including digital engines for printers, scanners and other embedded
control applications
Magma's Integrated Structured ASIC Support
Structured ASIC vendors offer designers a set of embedded cores or
devices with specific, customizable metal layers along with predefined
metal layers, which can contain the underlying pattern of logic cells,
memory and I/O (input/output). By virtue of the predefined structures,
the ASIC vendors drastically reduce risky and time-consuming tasks
because test, signal integrity and IR drop are accounted for in the
architecture. The programmable layers are often limited to a last few
metal layers or a single via to further reduce cost and turnaround
time.
With Blast Create SA, Magma combines ASIC-proven synthesis
capabilities with structure-specific optimizations to deliver superior
QoR and a highly predictable flow. Blast Create SA creates a
structured ASIC floorplan of logic array and physical data to guide
the entire implementation process. Unlike traditional logic synthesis
tools, Blast Create SA maps directly to structured ASIC complex logic
elements and on-chip hierarchical resources. Blast Create SA includes
advanced physical synthesis technology that handles complex and
specific physical site constraints created by structured ASIC
architectures. Blast Create SA's heterogeneous placement
simultaneously places complex standard-cell instances and
variable-width hard IP macros such as embedded memory blocks to
achieve an optimal solution. The Blast Create SA routing-aware
placement utilizes on-chip limited buffer and dedicated driver cells
to meet design timing constraints prior to detailed routing. Blast
Create SA physical synthesis also handles complex clocking constraints
of structured ASIC pre-routed clock and power networks to take
advantage of on-chip low-skew resources.
About Magma
Magma is a leading provider of software for semiconductor design.
The world's top chip companies use Magma's EDA products to design and
verify complex, high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for
communications, computing, consumer electronics and networking
applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs.
Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical
verification, characterization and programmable logic design, and the
company's integrated RTL-to-GDSII design flow offers "The Fastest Path
from RTL to Silicon"(TM). Magma is headquartered in Santa Clara,
Calif. with offices around the world. The company's stock trades on
Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on
the Web at www.magma-da.com.
Magma is a registered trademark, and Blast Create and "The Fastest
Path from RTL to Silicon" are trademarks of Magma Design Automation
Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the
matters set forth in this press release, including statements that
Blast Create delivers better timing, area and turnaround time for
structured ASIC designs; that STMicroelectronic's SPEAr Head SoCs
provide fast customization of critical functions in less time and at a
lower cost; and about the features and benefits of Magma software and
STMicroelectronic's SPEAr Head products, are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not
limited to Magma's and STMicroelectronic's abilities to keep pace with
rapidly changing technology, the companies' decisions to continue
working together and the companies' products' abilities to produce
desired results. Further discussion of these and other potential risk
factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Magma Design Automation Inc.
Monica Marmie, 408-565-7689
Email Contact
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